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Freshman Republican introduces bill to halt funding Libya operation

A freshman member of the House Armed Services Committee will introduce a bill Tuesday to cut off U.S. funding for operations in Libya.

Rep. Joe Heck's (R-Nev.) bill calls for a 30-day exit plan and would prevent any additional defense spending for Libya unless it is required for disengagement.

Responding to criticism by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) that politics are influencing his party's foreign policy views, Heck said Tuesday that his response would be the same to a Republican or Democrat president.

"A general doesn't have the authority to commit troops without there being a declaration of war," Heck said on ABC's Top Line, emphasizing he believes the president to be in violation of the War Powers Resolution.

"We hope that we get it to a vote by the end of the week," Heck said.

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has also spoken out against the president's actions in Libya and the lack of consultation with Congress. The White House released a 32-page report on operations in Libya last week and has maintained that the mission does not need congressional authorization because it does not meet the "hostility" threshold required by the War Powers Resolution.

"I read both the classified and unclassified versions of President Obama's response to Congress, and he failed to articulate a national security imperative in either one," Heck said in a statement. "Without a clear U.S. national security imperative for our military action in Libya, it is Congress' responsibility to prevent additional defense spending for our operations there."

It was not immediately known whether Republican leadership would endorse Heck's bill.

Also on Tuesday, Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and John Kerry (D-Mass.) asked members of their respective parties to endorse their resolution authorizing U.S. involvement in Libya. The two senators urged members to consider the humanitarian motive for the mission.